Telephone-call annunciator.



Patented sept. le, 1902,v

z. E. .lAcKsoN. TELEPHONE' CALL ANNUNCIATR.

,(Appuppnion nim mu'. s. 1902.)

(Na Model.)

e l i UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

ZEREMB E. JACKSON, OF ATCIIISON, KANSAS.

TELEPHONE-CALL ANNuNolAToR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 709,327, dated September 16, 1902.

^pplication filed March 8, 1902. Serial No. 97,233. (No model.)

Too/,ZZ whom'it may concern: l

Be it known that I, ZEREMBA E. JACKSON,

`a citizen of the United States, residing at Atchison, in the county of Atchison and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone-Call Annunciators, of which the following is a specitication.

This invention relates to telephony, and has specialreference to calling devices utilized in connection with telephone systems.

To this end the invention contemplates a l y simple, practical, and efficient telephone-call annunciator designed as an attachment for 'any of the ordinary telephones and coperating directly with the calling device or calling-bells, sp as to be operated thereby to provide for giving the desired signal or annunciationwhen a call comes over the'instrument.

The an nunciator attachment for telephones contemplated by the present invention possesses special utility as a signaling auxiliary Where a number of telephone instru ments are used in the same office, anda confusion of i callsHWould often result if means were not this and similar conditions that the present invention is designed.

A` further object of the invention is to provide an annunciator device for telephones which can be readily attached to any instrument without' removing or disturbing any `part thereof and Without mai-ring the appearancelof' the phone in the slighest degree.

Also the invention has in view the provision of an attachment which can be fitted or applied in operative position without the employment of driven or screw fasteners, thus combining simplicity of attachment With simplicity and practicability of construction.

The essential features of the invention `in the manner of mounting and operating the annunciator are necessarily susceptible to a wide range of modification in structural details without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention; but a preferred embodiment of the latter is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an elevation of a portion of a telephone instrument, showing the attachment arranged in operative relation to the striker'of the call-bells. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail elevation of the annunciator, showing the indicator-shutter held in its inactive nonsignaling.r position. y Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. et is a detail in perspective of the slidingindicator.

Like numerals designate `corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying out the invention any suitable type of indicator and means for holding the same in operative relation to the bell-striker may be employed, so long as provision is made for normally holding the indicator in an inactive non-signaling positionV through the mcdium of a trip -latch connection with the striker- Wire of the call-bell device; but a simple and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which the numeral l designates the indicator. In

the construction shown the indicator 1 is in holder 2 is preferably in the form of a closed sleeve casing of the same cross sectional shapeas the shutter-plate and provided at its longitudinal side edges with the inturned guiding-flanges 3, which embrace the longitudinal side edges of the shutter-slide 1, as may be plainly seenfrom Fig. 3 of the drawings.

To provide a simple and practical means for supporting the attachment in proper po- IOC or other equivalent adhesive material which j will serve to iirml'y retain the holder in place. The applied position of the holder within which is mounted the shutter-slide is plainlyV shown in Fig. l of the drawings, it being observed that the attachment is designed to be mounted upon the front wall of the generator-box below and within the vertical plane of the striker 4,'playing between and operating against the usual call-bells 5, which are also mounted upon the front wall of the geuerator-box.

The indicator-shutter slide 1 is of a greater length than the holder through which it slides, so as to work above and below the holder and to provide for limiting the movement of the shutter-slide, so as to prevent the same from moving out of its holder in either direction. The said slide is provided at its lower end with a guard stop projection 6, adapted to engage with the lower end of holder, and contiguous to the upper end thereof the indicator-slide is further provided, upon opposite sides thereof, with the laterally-odset arresting stop projections 7, adapted to engage with the top edge of the holder to arrest downward movement of the slide when the same drops to expose the signal thereon. yThe lower portion of the indicator-shutter slide 1 (designated by the reference-numeral 8) constitutes a signal bearing portion upon the face 0f which, as shown in Fig. 4, may be painted a color, a number, or any character of signal which it may be desired to expose by the shutter when the same drops to a signaling position. When held in its elevated position, the signal-bearing portion 8 of the slide is drawn within and concealed by the holder 2. rlo provide for norm ally holding the shutter-slide elevated in its inactive non-signaling position, the said slide is designed to have a tripping latch connection with the striker 4, or, at least, with the wire or stem portion of said striker. While this latch connection may be effected in different ways, a simple construction is shown and consists in providing the indicator-slide, at its vupper end, with what may be properly termed a latching-keeper 9. This latching-keeper is preferably an integral part of the slide and has formed therein an engaging notch 10. This engaging notch is provided with a flared mouth 11 and contiguous to the base thereof and at its oppoy site edges with the transversely-disposed inwardly-projecting trip-shoulders l2 and 13. The trip-shoulders 12 and 13 are respectively disposed one above the other and are consequently transversely disalined, while at the same time being disposed within the same longitudinal plane,thus breaking the perpendicularv line of the engaging notch or opening. The dodged arrangement of the oppositely-located trip-shoulders absolutely Hence in either position the'keeper-notch may l be engagedwith the striker-Wire, while the slamming of a door or the jar of the building will not cause accidental disengagement. However, upon the lateral vibration of the striker when a call comes over the phone the same will necessarily work itself out of engagement with both trip-shoulders, thus permitting the shu tter-slide to drop and uncover the signal-bearing portion 8 thereof. This affords a simple and effective signal to announce or annunciate that the call has come over the instrument having the attachment with the shutter dropped. 4

From the foregoing it is thought that th construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described telephone-call annunciator will be readily apparent without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

A telephone-call annunciator comprising a stationary holder consisting of a closed sleevecasing having atits longitudinal edges inturned combined guiding and attaching iianges, and also having an imperforate outer side constituting a cover member, and a fiat indicator shutter-plate slidably working through the casing and provided at its lower extremity with an offset guard-stop for engagement against the lower end of the casing and contiguous to its upper end with opposite offset arresting stop projections for engagement with the top edge of the casing, the guard-stop `and the side arresting-stops being spaced a greater distance apart than the length of the casing, said shutter-plate being further provided at its upper end with engaging means for releasable connection with the call-bell striker, and at its lower end and upon the outer face thereof being provided with a signal adapted to be normally housed and concealed entirel)T within the closed sleeve-casing behind the outer side or cover thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ZEREMBA E. JACKSON. Witnesses:

G. S. RAY, JOHN COMPTON.

IOO

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